Why Feminists Staged a Sit-in At Churchill Square Yesterday

Passers-by near Churchill Square yesterday evening were greeted by more than 100 women and non-binary people sitting outside the shopping centre, releasing flares and chanting.

It was a demonstration by Sisters Uncut Brighton, a local branch of the national feminist group famed for bold protest tactics such as jumping on the red carpet at the ‘Suffragette’ premiere and dying the Trafalgar Square fountains red.

The group were opposing cuts to services which help victims of domestic violence, bearing luggage to represent escape plans. The event was scheduled to coincide with International Women’s Day, but also with Chancellor Phillip Hammond’s first Budget in Theresa May’s government.

The Chancellor announced a £20 million pot of funding for women’s services in yesterday’s Budget, but Sisters Uncut says this money will not alleviate the funding crisis for domestic violence services – they describe it as ‘sticking a plaster on a haemorrhage.

Sarah, a Sisters Uncut Brighton member who attended the protest, said: “I came today because I’m angry about the way the government has consistently neglected survivors of domestic violence.”

A spokesperson for Sisters Uncut Brighton said: “Experiences of misogyny, racism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, and ableism leave us with a burden that is difficult to carry. Government cuts closing down our routes to safety and support burden us even more.”